Use of audiometers in the characterization of hearing patterns is well known in the art, and commonly used by audiologists, physicians, occupational health testers and industrial hygenists, school nurses and other testing personnel, audiologic technicians, and researchers, among others. Typical audiometers generate sine wave pure tones that are presented to the test subject and a response to the stimulus is given by verbal or hand signal, or via patient response mechanism such as a button that is externally connected via a cable or other similar means and is communicatively coupled to the audiometer. Both air conduction and bone conduction audiometry are widely practiced and employ different means of delivering the stimuli that help in localizing the source of hearing deficit in a subject. Specifications and calibrations of audiometers are well established and defined under a series of standards including both ISO and ANSI standards bodies.
Recent developments in linking computers to audiometers has resulted in a class of audiometers that are computer-driven, thereby enabling the storage of information and results more readily. These computer-operated audiometers create additional means to automate the testing process, and facilitate group as well as individual testing protocols.
Shennib (U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,332) teaches a design for implementing an audiometer within a headband used to also house the headphone transducers and other related peripherals necessary to embody a hearing aid testing system. This design offers some advantages in portability over more conventional audiometers, but requires a specific mounting and type of head gear to be worn, that limits the flexibility of types of audiometric transducers that can be used with the system without additional accessories or custom adaptations.
Since it may be desirable for an audiometer to include a patient control and response switch mechanism so that the patient can signal their acknowledgement of the stimuli, the inclusion of the audiometer into the response mechanism housing eliminates at least one extra component in a configuration, especially when automated testing is desired. This may make both the use and transportation of the audiometer more convenient, and address the portability as well as increasing reliability by reducing the number of components that must be used in the testing process.